26-001459 Motion.pdf
Ghafari Properties LLC Petitioner Vs. City Of Birmingham Respondent · 26-001459-TT
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING SYSTEM MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL Ghafari Properties LLC, Petitioner, vs. City of Birmingham, Respondent. MTT Docket No. 26-001459 Parcel No. 08-19-25-178-001 _____________________________________________________________________________/ MOTION TO COMPEL PETITIONER’S DISCOVERY RESPONSES, SCHEDULE A HEARING OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE ISSUE AN ORDER TO COMPEL, AND FOR FEES AND SANCTIONS FOR IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION NOW COMES Respondent, City of Birmingham, through its attorneys, Beier Howlett, P.C., brings this motion under TTR 247 and MCR 2.313(A), and submits the following Motion: 1. Petitioner initiated the case and served its Notice of docket number on September 13, 2025. 2. Respondent answered the petition on October 7, 2025. 3. Respondent served its Request for Production of Documents to Petitioner (“Discovery Requests”) on September 18, 2026. See Exhibit A. 4. Specifically, Respondent served the following Discovery Requests:
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(a) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 1: Produce all income/expense statements and Rent rolls for 2023, 2024, and 2025 for the subject property. (b) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 2: Produce all lease rental and occupancy agreements for all tenants at the subject property during 2023, 2024 and 2025, and all formal and informal lease offers submitted by or to Petitioner during those years. (c) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 3: Produce all marketing materials utilized during the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 including listed lease rates and lease terms. (d) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 4: Produce all sale listing information from the past 5 years for the subject property, including documents with marketing details as to the listing, sale price and days on market; formal or informal purchase offers; and any appraisals, broker opinions of value, or other valuation reports related to the property. (e) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 5: All agreement(s) for the sale or other transfer in ownership of the subject property, or any portion thereof, together with all settlement statements, transfer affidavits, and other documents delivered in connection with the closing on the sale. (f) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 6: Produce any and all deeds and other transfer documents from the past 5 years for the subject property. (g) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION NO. 7: With respect to the condition of the building constructed on the property, for the past 5 years to the present, produce the following: a. Property condition/inspection reports;
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b. Details of any renovations, capital improvements, or repairs, and remediation; c. Actual costs or quotes for any construction, renovations, capital improvements, or repairs and remediation; and d. Insurance policies and/or similar documents reflecting replacement cost estimates. 5. Petitioner has not submitted any response or documents responsive to the Discovery Requests, which were due on October 16, 2026. 6. It is now past the due date for Petitioner’s responses, and Petitioner has failed to respond and produce responsive documents. 7. On October 19, 2026, forwarded this Motion to Petitioner and inquired as to whether Petitioner intended to respond, per TTR 231. See Exhibit B. No response was provided. 8. The Discovery Requests are limited in scope and required for Respondent to prepare for trial of this case. WHEREFORE, Respondent respectfully requests this Tribunal to: A. Take immediate consideration of this Motion. B. Set an oral hearing on the Motion or to issue an order to compel discovery responses. C. Award costs, attorney fees, and any other sanctions or relief that this Tribunal deems necessary.
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Respectfully submitted, BEIER HOWLETT, P.C. /s/ Michael C. Gibbons Michael C. Gibbons (P51304) Attorneys for Respondent 3001 W. Big Beaver Rd., Ste. 600 Troy, MI 48084 Date: October 23, 2026 248-282-1069/ mgibbons@bhlaw.us.com
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING SYSTEM MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL Ghafari Properties LLC, Petitioner, vs. City of Birmingham, Respondent. MTT Docket No. 26-001459 Parcel No. 08-19-25-178-001 _____________________________________________________________________________/ BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO COMPEL PETITIONER’S DISCOVERY RESPONSES, SCHEDULE A HEARING OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE ISSUE AN ORDER TO COMPEL, AND FOR FEES AND SANCTIONS FOR IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION NOW COMES Respondent, City of Birmingham, through its attorneys, Beier Howlett, P.C., and for its Brief in Support of Motion to Compel Answers to its First Set of Discovery Requests states as follows: As set forth in Respondent’s motion, Respondent served its First Set of Discovery Requests (Request for Production of Documents) (“Discovery Requests”) to Petitioner on September 18, 2026. Petitioner has failed to provide responses or documents responsive to those Discovery Requests. TTR 247 sets forth the right to compel answers to interrogatories, inspection/production of documents and responses to the Document Requests and authorizes the relief sought in Respondent’s accompanying Motion. It states: (1) A party to a contested case may serve upon another party a request to produce or allow the inspection and copying or photographing, by or on behalf of the requesting party, of any designated documents, papers, books, records, accounts, letters,
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photographs, objects, or tangible things, which are not privileged, which come within the scope of discovery allowed by MCR 2.302(B), and which are in the party’s possession, custody, or control. (4) If a party upon whom a request is served under subrule (1) or (2) of this rule does not comply with the request, then the tribunal may, upon motion or its own initiative, order the party to do either of the following: (a) Produce or allow the inspection and copying or photographing, by or on behalf of the requesting party, of any designated documents, papers, books, records, accounts, letters, photographs, objects, or tangible things, which are not privileged and come within the scope of discovery allowed by MCR 2.302(B), and which are in the party’s possession, custody, or control. Similarly, MCR 2.313 governs motions to compel answers to interrogatories, inspection/production of documents and responses to document requests and authorizes the relief sought in Respondent’s accompanying Motion. It states, in pertinent part: (A) Motion for Order Compelling Disclosure or Discovery. A party, on reasonable notice to other parties and all persons affected, may apply for an order compelling disclosure or discovery as follows: (2) Motion. (b) To Compel Discovery. If (iv) in response to a request for inspection submitted under MCR 2.310, a person fails to respond that inspection will be permitted as requested, or Petitioner’s refusal to respond to Respondent’s Discovery Requests is without substantial justification, thereby mandating entry of an Order assessing costs and
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reasonable attorney fees. Indeed, MCR 2.313 (A)(5) requires courts to assess attorney fees. In pertinent part, MCR 2.313 (A)(5) states: (5) Award of Expenses of Motion. (a) If the motion is granted, the court shall, after opportunity for hearing, require the party or deponent whose conduct necessitated the motion or the party or attorney advising such conduct, or both, to pay to the moving party the reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining the order, including attorney fees, unless the court finds that the opposition to the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust. (b) If the motion is denied, the court shall, after opportunity for hearing, require the moving party or the attorney advising the motion, or both, to pay to the person who opposed the motion the reasonable expenses incurred in opposing the motion, including attorney fees, unless the court finds that the making of the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust. (c) If the motion is granted in part and denied in part, the court may apportion the reasonable expenses incurred in relation to the motion among the parties and other persons in a just manner. It is imperative that Respondent be provided all requested discovery to move forward with this case. Respondent’s ability to meaningfully prepare its case for trial is not possible due to Petitioner’s failure to respond to the request for production of documents. WHEREFORE, Respondent respectfully requests this Tribunal to grant this Motion and enter an Order compelling Petitioner to provide full and complete
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responses and produce all documents responsive to the Discovery Requests within a time period deemed reasonable under the circumstances. Respectfully submitted, BEIER HOWLETT, P.C. /s/ Michael C. Gibbons Michael C. Gibbons (P51304) Attorneys for Respondent 3001 W. Big Beaver Rd., Ste. 600 Troy, MI 48084 Date: October 23, 2026 248-282-1069/ mgibbons@bhlaw.us.com
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING SYSTEM MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL Ghafari Properties LLC, Petitioner, vs. City of Birmingham, Respondent. MTT Docket No. 26-001459 Parcel No. 08-19-25-178-001 _____________________________________________________________________________/ PROOF OF SERVICE On the date below I sent a copy of this Motion to Compel to Petitioner’s Discovery Responses, Schedule a Hearing or in the Alternative Issue an Order To Compel, and for Fees and Sanctions for Immediate Consideration: Attn: Joshua T. Shillair, Esq Colliers International 400 W 4th St., Suite 350 Royal Oak, MI 48067 Joshua.Shillair@Colliers.com I declare that the statements above are true and to the best of my information, knowledge and belief. /s/ Erin Miller Erin Miller Dated: October 23, 2026
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EXHIBIT A
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING SYSTEM MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL Ghafari Properties LLC, Petitioner, vs. City of Birmingham, Respondent. MTT Docket No. 26-001459 Parcel No. 08-19-25-178-001 _____________________________________________________________________________/ RESPONDENT’S FIRST REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS TO PETITIONER Please take notice that Pursuant to the Tax Tribunal Rules, Petitioner is required to respond to this First Request for Production of Documents within 28 days after they are served. Instructions and Definitions 1. These Requests are made pursuant to MCR 2.302 and 2.310. 2. Produce the documents to Defendant’s counsel at 3001 W. Big Beaver Rd. Suite 600, Troy, MI 48084 within the time provided by court rule. 3. These Requests are continuing in nature, and supplemental production is required if additional responsive documents become available. 4. For purposes of these discovery requests, “subject property” or “property” means the real property under appeal. 5. For purposes of these discovery requests, “subject tax years” refers to the tax years under appeal.
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REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION 1. Produce all income/expense statements and Rent rolls for 2023, 2024, and 2025 for the subject property. RESPONSE: 2. Produce all lease rental and occupancy agreements for all tenants at the subject property during 2023, 2024 and 2025, and all formal and informal lease offers submitted by or to Petitioner during those years. RESPONSE: 3. Produce all marketing materials utilized during the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 including listed lease rates and lease terms. RESPONSE: 4. Produce all sale listing information from the past 5 years for the subject property, including documents with marketing details as to the listing, sale price and days on market; formal or informal purchase offers; and any appraisals, broker opinions of value, or other valuation reports related to the property. RESPONSE:
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5. All agreement(s) for the sale or other transfer in ownership of the subject property, or any portion thereof, together with all settlement statements, transfer affidavits, and other documents delivered in connection with the closing on the sale. RESPONSE: 6. Produce any and all deeds and other transfer documents from the past 5 years for the subject property. RESPONSE: 7. With respect to the condition of the building constructed on the property, for the past 5 years to the present, produce the following: a. Property condition/inspection reports; b. Details of any renovations, capital improvements, or repairs, and remediation; c. Actual costs or quotes for any construction, renovations, capital improvements, or repairs and remediation; and d. Insurance policies and/or similar documents reflecting replacement cost estimates. RESPONSE:
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Respectfully submitted, BEIER HOWLETT, P.C. /s/ Michael C. Gibbons Michael C. Gibbons (P51304) Attorneys for Respondent 3001 W. Big Beaver Rd., Ste. 600 Troy, MI 48084 Date: September 18, 2026 248-282-1069/ mgibbons@bhlaw.us.com
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING SYSTEM MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL Ghafari Properties LLC, Petitioner, vs. City of Birmingham, Respondent. MTT Docket No. 26-001459 Parcel No. 08-19-25-178-001 _____________________________________________________________________________/ PROOF OF SERVICE On the date below I sent a copy of this First Request for Production of Documents to: Attn: Joshua T. Shillair, Esq Colliers International 400 W 4th St., Suite 350 Royal Oak, MI 48067 Joshua.Shillair@Colliers.com I declare that the statements above are true and to the best of my information, knowledge and belief. /s/ Erin Miller Erin Miller Dated: September 18, 2026
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EXHIBIT B
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October 19, 2026 VIA EMAIL Attn: Jay A. Schwartz Property Tax Reduction Services, LLC 37887 West Twelve Mile Road, Suite B Farmington Hills, MI 48331 Re: Ghafari Properties LLC v City of Birmingham MTT Docket No. 25-002107 Dear Mr. Schwartz: We served our Request for Production on September 18, 2026. We still have not received any responses which were due on October 16, 2026. Enclosed is the Motion to Compel Discovery Responses and Brief in support that we intend to file with the Tax Tribunal. In accordance with TTR 231, please advise immediately whether Petitioner will be filing a response to the Motion to Compel. Sincerely, BEIER HOWLETT, P.C. Michael C. Gibbons Michael C. Gibbons MCG/em